Why So Many S&S Carbs - Harley Forum

BaggerDad · #1 04-23-2008, 07:11 PM

I am curious why so many people put S&S carbs on their evos. Is the stock carb just not that good or is it the cool looking teardrop air cleaner of S&S.

JCourneyaP · #2 04-24-2008, 12:05 AM

Only from what I am told by Buds that have the S&S setup..... The carb works better with their setup then stock.

Frisco has ran all sort of Carbs. He can give you some good info that may answer your question. Straight from the Horses Mouth.....

frisco-rigid · #3 04-24-2008, 02:47 AM

Hi JC and Bagger
You meant horses ass dint ya huh,,, yeah.....

I would bet it's from all the years past that S&S was associated with perfomance and HD's..

Even before I "discovered" the wonderful world of Mikuni's I was totally dis-enchanted with the E & G carbs.. I feel the Super B is one of the best but still not up to the Mik.. I find jetting them is very simple but still no comparison to the power and fuel economy of the Mik..

I don't buy anything from S&S now.. An example----
In days past you didn't need to use a gasket between the backing plate and carb mouth with the Super B because the machining was sooo tight.. I still have a group of E's and G's and with everyone of em the backing plate will actually rock when placed against the carb mouth.. They're cast, polished a bit and sent off..
And then there's the 2 factory motors that came apart on me with-in 4000 miles..
Ha,, I don't see the infatuation with S&S anymore, maybe it's good marketing..

#4 04-24-2008, 12:32 PM

I think the S&S is a better carb than a stocker but you can make a CV stocker work pretty good with some mods. I'm a Mikuni fan myself. Well made and easy to tune for a do it yourselfer like me. I had a friend that had gone to Mikuni on his built FXR but couldn't get it to run right so he switched to a S&S and the bike ran better. Go figure.

Trigger87 · #5 04-24-2008, 01:16 PM

I've been happy with my Mikuni for 14 years. Never have had a problem, and I love the tunability. That carb has worked great on 3 different build versions of the same motor, and its light years ahead of the old butterfly style that came with the bike.

47knuck · #6 04-26-2008, 07:00 PM

Guys who more about carbs than i do tell me the stock CV carb is a fine tool if you are not messing with it at all. Theyu say the S&S is easy to tune pretty close to max, and the Mikuni is tougher to tune because it offers so many more settings, but will be the best if you get it nuts on.

pacman · #7 03-12-2009, 11:44 PM

i use cv,s with acelarator pump on everything my old shovel never ran better ,you got to drill air adjustment out where you can adjust ,for a shovel from 74 to 88 ci 190 main 48-50 second good press on flang kit and you set beleave me no more burpping and farting ,seat air screw back out 2 1/2 turns to start warm engine adjust ..............branch

aceharleywrench · #8 03-13-2009, 08:25 AM

I've found the only way to get an S&S (E or G) anywhere close to the performance of a flat slide Mikuni is to add a Thunderjet. I will stick to the Mik for my personal stuff,but will happily modify an S&S for a customer who has already spent the money for a Super E or G.

#9 11-19-2009, 02:55 AM

There is no easier carb to tune than an S&S.

All the adjustments are within easy reach and you can rejet an S&S in five minutes without removing if from the bike.

It's a cinch to rebuild and parts are and will be available for it long after we're dead.

It has far fewer moving parts and is more compact and much lighter than comparable oriental carbs, which puts less stress on manifold seals.

But even if it had none of that going for it, it's made in America, and that still means a lot to me.

hardtimeharley · #10 11-19-2009, 10:40 AM

This is an old thread with new replies, so I can't resist. Marketing, Marketing and more Marketing. In the 90's the carb. wars were at thier peak. Big bucks were being spent on the multitude of available carbs and updates. Most of my bud's (especially those that didn't do thier own work) got sucked into the S&S camp. I went with the 42mm Mikuni. When someone would tell me how good the S&S super G was, I'd reply "if it's soooo good, how come there are so darn many aftermarket hop up kits or accessories for them"?

I still love that Mikuni.